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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Straggle \Strag"gle\, n.
The act of straggling. [R.] --Carlyle.
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Straggle \Strag"gle\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Straggled}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Straggling}.] [Freq. of OE. straken to roam, to
stroke. See {Stroke}, v. t.]
1. To wander from the direct course or way; to rove; to
stray; to wander from the line of march or desert the line
of battle; as, when troops are on the march, the men
should not straggle. --Dryden.
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2. To wander at large; to roam idly about; to ramble.
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The wolf spied out a straggling kid. --L'Estrange.
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3. To escape or stretch beyond proper limits, as the branches
of a plant; to spread widely apart; to shoot too far or
widely in growth.
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Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each
side of the hedge that straggle too far out.
--Mortimer.
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4. To be dispersed or separated; to occur at intervals.
"Straggling pistol shots." --Sir W. Scott.
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They came between Scylla and Charybdis and the
straggling rocks. --Sir W.
Raleigh.
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